Magnus Carlsen wins Esports World Cup title for second year in a row

Paris: World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen capped his masterful undefeated campaign by retaining his title after defeating Belarusian chess grandmaster Denis Lazavik in a lop-sided final of the chess competition at the Esports World Cup here on Saturday.

Team Liquid's Carlsen came with a clear goal and pursued it with unrelenting determination, not losing a single match en route to successfully defending his title.

The 35-year-old Norwegian secured a 2-0 (3-1, 3-1) win over Lazavik of AG.AL in the grand final.


"I followed Denis' games and talked to the coaches. I do feel, especially with Hikaru's approach, it was not right. Funny thing is, I said that he is not great at defending endgames, so I thought I should keep it together better than Hikaru," the five-time world champion said after the win.

"I have played Denis many times online, where I played riskily and got punished for it, so I didn't give him obvious positional advantages."

Asked if there was any moment when he felt he might lose, Carlsen said: "There were several moments, a couple against Alireza, against Nihal as well. There were certainly some moments, but I am thrilled to go undefeated.

"I was not trying to do anything out of the ordinary. I tried to take my chances, with a little bit of randomness, and I am happy."

Asked what it would take to beat him, Carlsen said: "I don't know. In this format, it is not easy at the moment, I think. I think Alireza had a very good chance. It is not easy..."

United States' Hikaru Nakamura finished at the third position after beating Alireza Firouzja 4-1.

The championship match will use a best-of-three sets format, with the first two sets comprising four games each. If required, a third set will consist of two games to determine the champion.